Alison Gibbons arrived in Beckindale for employment at The Woolpack on Reverend Ruskin's recommendation. She had previously worked at a hotel in Liverpool and had known Ruskin when she was a child. Alison was imprisoned for theft as she had been stealing to help her husband but he died whilst she was in prison. She arrived in Beckindale for a fresh start. She later took over the Village Shop from Amy Postlethwaite.